Arnab Seal

Sports journalist with the Times of India. Views expressed are personal.

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

While he has received lots of support from players and federations after coming out, FIH has sadly not reached out to him even once.

While hoping things will change for the better, he does what he can do to help others and be there.

#Hockey #LGBTQIA

[TOI Sports @toisports]

#Hockey 🏑

Nicolas Keenan, Argentina🇦🇷 hockey star and partner of Dutch🇳🇱 PM-elect, Rob Jetten, reflects on navigating LGBTQ+ identity in the world of international sport

@arnabsTOI ✍️
https://t.co/a23Q47dEKD

[TOI Sports @toisports]

Odisha’s Pritti Jhankaar makes history with global gymnastics scholarship

Jhankaar trains at the Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar

She is among 12 gymnasts worldwide to have earned the recognition this year. The scholarship carries a grant of 5,000 Swiss francs — a little over Rs 6 lakh.

READ: https://t.co/tvHqe4CZ8m

✍️ @arnabsTOI

#PrittiJhankaar

[TOI Sports @toisports]

#Hockey

Hockey India to set up panel to probe sexual misconduct allegations

@arnabsTOI ✍️
https://t.co/kAmSACBHIu

[Vinayakk @vinayakkm]

Every FIFA World Cup starting from 2002 felt like a special milestone in life. The building anticipation. The festival feeling.

Honestly, 2026 has had almost nothing of that sort. The actual football might change this but everything else about this tournament has felt dreary.

[Pratik প্রতীক پرتیک @pratik80s]

Show me a similar statement of a host association in India about the akhadas they've produced in last 10 years, which are defended by Indian cricket ecosystem only with whataboutery

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

If you love sports, and even if you don't but just want to read something good to make your day, do follow and subscribe.

#sports

[Vinayakk @vinayakkm]

Hello, hello! 👋🏻

I am starting off something new (hopefully daily, but let's see) on Substack.

What we Watched Today – with the first piece on PV Sindhu vs An Seyoung. (Of course it had to be badminton 🏸😃)

A quick note on what the idea behind it is👇🏽

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

Let the press do its job.

#pressfreedom

[TOI Patna @TOIPatna]

@samrat4bjp
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@bihar_police
@NitishKumar
@NitinNabin
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‘At IGIMS, guards behaved like goons, threatened, confined meforcibly in a room’
https://t.co/FnF6OWdLC5
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[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

Raj’s mistake proved costly during the mixed 4x400m relay, as the Indian team was disqualified despite finishing second.

However, he made no such errors on Sunday while running the first leg during the men's 4x400 relay, setting the team up strongly for the finish.

#athletics #AsianU20Athletics

[TOI Sports @toisports]

#u20asianathletics #athleticsIndia

Piyush Raj made history as Bihar's inaugural U20 Asian Athletics Championships medalist, clinching bronze in the thrilling men's 4x400m relay.

@arnabsTOI ✍️

https://t.co/2riJwZ4Y1r

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

@UjwalKS Stadium environment dead. Everyone's going home.

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

The team’s effort also helped India set a new national record, while they were among the five teams that broke the meet record.

#athletics #AsianU20athletics

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

Piyush Raj (extreme right) has won a bronze medal as part of India’s 4x400m relay team at the U20 Asian Athletics Championships, becoming the first athlete from Bihar to medal in an athletics event at the Asian Championships.

The quartet of Raj, Sayed Sabeer, Ranjith Kumar S and Mohammed Ashfaq clocked 3:05.54 to finish third, behind China (gold) and Qatar (silver).

#athletics #AsianU20athletics

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

When he was about 12 years old, he began running on Kaimur hills, which is part of the Vindhya range, and on the banks of Son river. Now 19, the boy from Banjari village in Rohtas district has qualified for the U20 Asian and Worlds meet in 400m.

#indianathletics

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

After a huge 13-0 victory against Kazakhstan, the Indian men's U18 team went down to Japan 2-4 in the U18 Asia Cup.

Ashish Tani Purti (25') and Ketan Kushwaha (32') scored for India, while Yoshioka Mahiro (15'), Fujiwara Yuma (20'), Yasui Kengo (34') and Takahashi Aone (42') were on target for Japan.

India will next face Korea on Monday in their third group game.

#hockey #U18AsiaCup

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

After beating Malaysia in their first match, the U18 women's team got the better of South Korea with a 3-1 win. Nousheen Naz, Shruti Kumari and Kiran Ekka scored the goals. They will take on Singapore in their final Pool A fixture on Tuesday.

#hockey #U18AsiaCup

[TOI Sports @toisports]

AFI gives athletes second shot at CWG qualification in Ludhiana

@arnabsTOI

https://t.co/DYONVt95IH

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

You can’t help but marvel at what Vinesh has done despite everything that WFI did to ensure she didn’t get a fair shot at making the Asian Games squad.

Yes, people will have differing opinions, but you have to respect her fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude. What makes it even more remarkable is that she has done all this just months after becoming a mother.

Hopefully, she will return to the mat again in the near future and won’t be hounded by the administration anymore.

#vineshphogat #wrestlingtrials #AsianGames

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

What's even more concerning is that SAI had approved Rs. 50 lakh for the tournament held in Bhubaneswar earlier this month.

The secretary, who has been in office for 20 years, has apologized for the same but it remains to be seen whether the authorities take an action or not.

#gymnastics #odishasports

https://t.co/xxa9Nrysn0

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

The Odisha Gymnastics Association has come under scrutiny after it emerged that the name of an individual continued to appear as president on official documents even though he passed away in November 2024.

The issue has raised further concerns because the same documents were allegedly used to secure nearly Rs 2 crore in government funding, of which Rs 98 lakh has already been released.

#gymnastics #odishasports

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

The Indian U18 women’s hockey team started their U18 Asia Cup campaign with a 2-1 win over Malaysia. 15-year-old forward Nousheen Naz scored both the goals. India will play Korea in their next pool match on Sunday.

#hockey #U18AsiaCup

[Vinayakk @vinayakkm]

What if this was an elaborate ad campaign by Sai Sudharsan? Next match, he walks out with a new bat, looks into the camera and says: "for better grip and sheer comfort, switch to MRF."

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

@RaviTMandapaka 🤞🏽

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

The Indian women’s hockey team earned their second consecutive victory in Perth, as they beat Australia 2-0. For India, Sonam (36’) and Lalremsiami (49’) scored the two goals.

With this win, India lead the four-match series 2-1. The fourth and final match of the series will be played on Saturday.

#hockey

[Arnab Seal @arnabsTOI]

A silver in the last U20 championship and now a gold.

Great going by the youngster who took up the game after her father Hakam Chand Kamboj, a decathlete, inspired her to take up the game and trained her since she was a child.

The 18-year-old's effort of 52.27m will also help her make it to the U20 Worlds for which the qualifying mark was 51.43m.

Pic caption: Amanat with her father after the Indian Open Athletics meet in Ranchi last year.

#athletics #AsianU20athletics

[nnis Sports @nnis_sports]

🚨 Amanat Kamboj wins GOLD in the women’s discus throw at the U20 Asian Athletics Championships 2026!

India’s Amanat Kamboj brought home gold in the women’s discus throw final with a best effort of 52.27m at the ongoing U20 Asian Athletics Championships.

🥇 Amanat Kamboj (India) - 52.27m
🥈 Chenyi Ma (China) - 51.30m
🥉 Koko Konda (Japan) - 49.74m

At the previous U20 Asian Athletics Championships, Amanat won silver. This time, she has upgraded her medal to gold.

#IndianAthletics #Athletics @afiindia #AthleticsIndia